FAQ - General Q&A

​KEYBOARD AND/OR MOUSE MAY NOT WORK IN SAFEMODE -​
​* Click here ​

​DISABLE CPU HYPERTHREADING IN THE BIOS -​
​* Reboot the computer​
​* When the Dell logo screen appears, press the F2 key until the computer enters the System Setup program​
​* Press the [Down Arrow] key until CPU Information is highlighted​
​* [Hit Enter Key] to display the available choices​
​* Press the [Up Arrow] key or the [Down Arrow] key to highlight Hyper-Threading​
​* Press the [Spacebar] to toggle from Enable to Disable​
​* Press the [Esc] key to exit from the CPU Information menu​
​* Press the [Esc] key to Save and Exit​
​* Press the [Enter] key when you are prompted to Save changes and exit now​

​DISABLE ALL KEYBOARD ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS -​
​(causes mouse freeezing, stuttering etc..)​
​* Click Start- (Settings)- Control Panel​
​* Look to the left. If listed, click "Switch to Classic View"​
​* Click Accessibility Options​
​* Under the Keyboard tab, remove all checks​
​* Click Apply- OK​

​LOADING SP1 LOSES ALL USB DEVICES -​
​* Press the Windows + Pause/Break keys​
​* Click the Hardware tab and/or the Device Manager button​
​* Right click Universal Serial Bus Controllers​
​* Click "Scan for hardware changes"​
​* When done scanning, close all boxes​
​* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart​

​If the issue persists:​
​* Press the Windows + Pause/Break keys​
​* Click the Hardware tab and/or the Device Manager button​
​* Click the + left of Universal Serial Bus Controllers​
​* Right click the listings one at a time​
​* Click Update Driver​
​* The dot should be on Install the software automatically (Recommended)​
​* Click Next, follow the prompts​
​* When finished, close all boxes​
​* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart​

​* USB 2.0 Device Removed When System Resumes from Hibernation. Click here .​

​* Your USB Keyboard and Mouse That Are Connected to a USB 2.0 Controller Are Slow to Respond After Hibernation. Click here . ​

​* USB Devices May Not Work After You Unplug a Downstream USB Hub from the Host Controller. Click ​​here ​​.​

​* Click here to update the EHCI USB 2.0 controller​

​KEYBOARD STARTS TYPING BY ITSELF -​
​If you are using any Voice software, mute the microphone. If the typing stops, you know the software was the culprit.​
​* Click Start- (Settings)- Control Panel​
​* Look to the left. If listed, click "Switch to Classic View"​
​* Click Regional and Language Options​
​* Click the Languages tab​
​* Click the Details button​
​* Click the Language Bar button​
​* Insert a check to "To turn off text services"​
​* Click OK- Apply- OK- Apply- OK​

​CLEAN THE KEYBOARD TO ALLEVIATE STUCK KEYS -​
​* Turn off the computer​
​* Disconnect the keyboard from the computer​
​* Use a can of compressed air to blow out any of the dust or dirt between and under the keys of the keyboard​
​* Lightly moisten a soft cleaning cloth with a solution of three parts water and one part liquid dishwashing detergent and carefully wipe the keys​

​NO STANDBY IN WINDOWS XP CAUSED BY ADOBE 4.0 -​
​The error is, "The device driver for the keyboard device is preventing the machine from entering sleep mode. Please close all applications and try again. If the problem persists, you may need to update this driver." This is caused by the Atmhelpr.sys driver which is loaded by Adobe Type Manager version 4.0. Remove Adobe Type Manager from the system​

​DISABLE THE MOUSE FROM STOPPING POWER MANAGEMENT -​
​* Press the Windows + Pause/Break keys​
​* Click the Hardware tab and/or the Device Manager button​
​* Click the plus left of Mice and other pointing devices​
​* Right click your mouse​
​* Click Properties​
​* Click the Power Mangagment tab​
​* Uncheck allow this device to bring out of standby or hibernate​
​* Click OK and close all boxes​

​ERRATIC MOUSE MOVEMENT -​
​The following surfaces cause erratic mouse movement: ​
​- Very glossy surfaces, magazine covers or glass or clear plastic tables ​
​- Very small repeating line or dot patterns on some mouse pads​
​- Holographic-type surfaces on some mouse pads​
​- Glossy wood-type, marble patterns​

​SET ENGLISH AS THE DEFAULT LANGUAGE:​
​Windows 95/98/ME -​
​* Click Start- (Settings)- Control Panel- Keyboard-Language​
​* Change it to English (United States)​
​* Click the Properties or Input Locales button​
​* Change "Keyboard layout" to United States 101​
​* Click OK- Apply- OK​
​* Close all boxes​
​* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart ​
​Windows XP -​
​* Click Start- (Settings)- Control Panel​
​* Look to the left. If listed, click "Switch to Classic View"​
​* Click Regional and Language Options​
​* Click the Regional Options tab​
​* Change the first blank to "English (United States)"​
​* Click the tab "Languages"​
​* Click the button "Details"​
​* Change the first blank to "English (United States) - US"​
​* Click Apply- OK- Apply- OK​
​* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart​

​KEYBOARD SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS -​
​* 2P121 Keyboard for Dell Systems PS/2, Midnight Gray​

​* 7N242 Dell Quietkey Keyboard (PS/2)​

​* 4W840, 6W610 Performance USB Keyboard (USB) 8 Non- programmable hotkeys with a large volume knob on the right. Windows XP dictates the hotkey functionality (310-3772 additional USB ports) (310-3157 normal)​
​* Click here ​
​* Click here ​
​* Click here ​

​* 2R400, 3R303 Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard (PS/2) has 8 hotkeys and a volume knob (CD part #4R067)​
​* Insert the Drivers and Utilities CD in the CD drive ​
​* Click the OK button​
​* Click the Next button​
​* Click the Finish button​
​* Remove the CD​
​* Click Start- Shutdown- Restart- OK or Click Start- Turn Off Computer- Restart​
​* Re- insert the Drivers and Utilities CD in the CD drive ​
​* Click the Next button​
​* Click to select your Dimension from the System Model menu​
​* Click to select Windows XP from the Operating System menu​
​* Click to select Applications from the Topic menu ​
​* Click to select Dell Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard under Keyboard Applications​
​* Scroll down then click the Extract button​
​The Input: Dell Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard Application window appears​
​* Click the Continue button​
​The message Select the folder where you want to unzip the files to appears​
​* Click the OK button ​
​A message appears asking if you want to create the folder​
​NOTE: If a message appears asking to overwrite the folder, click the Yes to All button ​
​* Click the Yes button​
​The message All files were successfully unzipped appears​
​* Click the OK button​
​The Readme.htm window appears​
​* Click the Install Now button ​
​The message Would you like to open the file or save it to your computer? appears​
​* Click the Open button​
​The Volume Control window appears​
​* Close all open windows​
​* Go ​​here ​​to download the software​

​* T0185 Wireless Keyboard & Mouse USB 15 hotkeys 310-4164, T0179 MS​

​* 5695W Enhanced Performance Keyboard (USB) has 7 programmable hotkeys. Click ​​here ​

​* RT7D00 Enhanced Quietkey Keyboard (PS/2) has 3 programmable hotkeys. Click ​​here ​

​* 6H257 Multimedia (USB) has 7 silver programmable hotkeys. Click ​​here ​

​MICROSOFT KEYBOARD DRIVERS -​
​* To get the Microsoft keyboard drivers and software, go here:​
​http://microsoft.com/hardware/keyboard/download.asp​
​* Select your keyboard​
​* Select your operating system​
​* Select your operating system language​
​* Click Download Now​

​NOTEKEY, REMAP KEYS -​
​* Click here . for the TradeKeys remapping utility which will allow you to reprogram that hotkey​
​* Click here to download this application for Windows XP​
​* Click here for the Windows 9X/ME driver​
​* Click here for the Windows XP driver​

​* Click Start- Run​
​* Type REGEDIT​
​* Click OK​
​* Click the "+" next to the following folders:​
​HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE​
​SOFTWARE​
​Microsoft​
​Windows​
​CurrentVersion​
​Explorer​
​AppKey​
​* Click the folder 16​
​* Look to the right and double-click "ab Association". If not listed, right click on the ShellExecute​
​* Click rename​
​* Change to Association​
​* Right click on it and chose Modify​
​* Change this to .cda to launch your default media player for CDs. Change it to .MP3 for you default mp3 player​
​* Click OK- File- Exit​

​HOTKEYS & WINAMP -​
​* Click here for the Logitech Multimedia Keyboard Plugin​
​* Click here for the Winamp RM-X General Purpose Control software​
​* Click here ​
​* Click here for Keyboard Launchpad​

​DELLTOUCH INSTALLATION -​
​How do I install my DellTouch Programmable Hot Keys software for my Dell Enhanced keyboard on my Dimension computer?​
​* Click here ​

​DELLTOUCH PROGRAMMING HOTKEYS -​
​* Click Start- (All) Programs- DellTouch Programmable Keys​
​* Click on the hot key you wish to program. A new window will open allowing you to select a function for the hot key. To select from the pre-defined hot key functions, click on the button labeled "Functions," then click on the down arrow to the right of the text box to select from the pre-defined functions. To program the hot key to start a program or go to a web page, click the button labeled Launch Application or website, then type in the path to the program or web page you desire, or click on the "Browse" button to browse for a program file. When finished, click the "OK" button​
​* The standby/hibernate moon button cannot be adjusted. You can turn it off by removing the Delltouch software, but you also lose the other three buttons​

​RESETTING HOTKEY DEFAULTS -​
​* Since the hot keys are re-programmable, proper function can be lost or changed. To reset the factory defaults, open the Delltouch software, click Options and choose "Revert to Default"​

​KEYBOARD SKINS -​
​Go to the following web links to see/order keyboard skins:​
​http://www.keyboardskins.com/cartexe/keyboard.asp​
​http://www.abcomcorp.com/keyboard%20skins.html​
​http://comtech-products.com/DustCovers.htm​

​2 COMPUTERS WITH WIRELESS MOUSE/KEYBOARDS -​
​Reset each wireless receiver to avoid disruptions​

​Message Edited by DELL-FAQ on 12-28-2004 11:46 AM​